Monday, May 26, 2014

another day, another mass shooting

What
has happened to this country? What has happened to the people in
this country? When did the right to own guns trump the right to
life?

When
did the people of this country start to believe that it was their
right to solve every problem with a gun? When did people start
thinking it was an acceptable thing to do to threaten, intimidate,
and stalk those who are protesting for stricter gun laws?

I
engage, at times on FB, in conversations about the level of gun
violence here and, of course, with the paid trolls who continue to
extoll the virtues of guns and gun owners, most recently about the
two men who brought their assault rifles into a family restaurant
making sure everyone saw them and striking fear in the hearts of
everyone else there.

The
troll's position was that it was their right to do so in that open
carry state. Perhaps so, but that doesn't count for a reason. When
I asked for one reason, other than it is legal for them to do so,
that they felt it necessary to carry assault rifles into a family
restaurant in a civilized community I was met with silence. When
other posters commented about the fear that these men caused, the
troll wanted to know why people felt fearful if the men weren't
acting in a threatening manner.

Seriously?
How is anyone supposed to know that these men aren't going to open
fire? Personally, I wouldn't wait around to find out.

They
will also tell you that crime has decreased with the increase of gun
sales but crime rises and falls for many reasons. What they don't
talk about is the rise in gun violence and gun deaths with the rise
of gun sales.

Just
today, on FB, someone posted the link to the news statement of the
father of one of the victims of this latest shooting. Predictably,
someone commented that guns don't kill people, people kill people
witness the guy who drove his car into a crowd at SXSW in Austin and
the Boston marathon bombings.

Yes,
people do kill people and they do it most often with guns. Do you
know why bombings are so rare? Because it is illegal to possess or
make bombs. But who needs bombs when you have an arsenal at your
disposal?

Unfettered
access to guns in this country is a serious problem and if you don't
recognize that then you are part of the problem. It is easier to buy
a gun in some states than it is to vote.

But,
they reply, why punish responsible gun owners. It's not punishment
to restrict the kinds and quantities of guns and ammunition, it's not
punishment to require extensive background checks, waiting periods, and extended training because all gun owners are responsible until that moment they aren't,
until that moment they let their anger get the better of them, until
that moment they forget to lock up the gun and a child finds it and
commits suicide or accidentally kills a sibling or friend, until that
moment it is stolen.

The
fact is that the gun culture as promoted by the NRA and it's craziest
proponents have turned this country into one of the most dangerous
places on earth. They have equated unfettered gun ownership to
religious observance and they refuse to acknowledge the correlation
between increased gun sales and ownership and increased gun violence.

So,
have we had enough yet? Will this country ever have enough? Will
the politicians ever actually represent the will of the people and
tell the NRA 'no'?

Oh,
who am I kidding, of course not. The most warlike country on earth,
this country that has been at war, one war or another, for almost
every year of it's existence, will never curb the kinds or amounts of
weaponry available to any Tom, Dick, and Harry regardless.

It
won't matter how many innocent people are killed.

Edit:
I am not against gun ownership but I do think guns should be much
harder to acquire than they currently are and I am for restricting
the types of guns ordinary people can buy. People who want to buy
guns should have to submit to extensive background checks, a waiting
period, extensive training, and a license that must be renewed every
year. Guns are not toys. Any responsible person should not object
to these restrictions.

18 comments:

i do believe in the right to bear arms but am not opposed to greater background checks, limitations on the types of weapons, etc. what concerns me is the unfettered rage we seem to be breeding in this present time. planned attacks, whether by bomb, gun, poison, or slashings like those in asia are marks of fanatics, disturbed minds, terrorists with some agenda. the 16 yr old in pennsylvania that somehow felt compelled to shoot the cabbie twice in the back of the head this weekend because he felt he was taking him on the long route to charge him more - those incidents are what worries me most. or sense of right and wrong has disintegrated.

I've never owned a gun and never will. In fact, i am not aware that anyone in my family owns or has ever owned a gun. So I totally don't understand the gun nuts and why what they want trumps common sense and sanity.

Why doesnt anything change after mass shootings? For the most part it is the "it can't happen to me" mentality. I suspect that the only way to change a pro-gun advocate's position is to have their child killed in a mass shooting. While I have incredible sympathy to the parents of children recently killed and I applaude their outspoken words... I have to ask "where we're their voices BEFORE the shooting?" Maybe this sounds a little cold but it points out the real problem. "Why should I speak out? It will never happen to me."

Amen, sister! Ellen, you said everything I think on this issue. I have always felt this way. My husband owns guns and feels this way. Reasonable people feel this way. We don't have enough money to buy the votes needed to change the laws - the NRA does have the money and that's the whole problem right there.

Carrying a gun, worse an assault rifle, into any public place is a threat in itself. It is beyond my comprehension as to why this is legal, but then I see no need to own guns in the first place except for those who hunt. Oh, but then I don't believe in hunting either. That's one of the reason I moved out of Oklahoma -- the mentality. But then I am the odd person out.

I've never understood the fanaticism about guns that permeates some parts of American culture. I think it extends back to the same crazy streak of suspicion and rebelliousness that led Americans out of Europe in the first place, and certainly relates to the vigilante justice of the old west. But nowadays it's an anachronism.

I can't imagine any good reason why people would carry rifles into a restaurant.

I do enjoy living in England where guns are much harder to get. We almost never hear about gun crimes. They have happened, but they are not common.

For years they said it would be too expensive for air bags...seat belts...etc. How about working on biological recognition for most guns. Yes, people have the right to own hunting guns, guns for self defense...not so sure about gun collectors...but we also need to fund mental health care as well.

Ellen, I used to worked for a retail store that sold guns. We were almost sold out when the year changed from 1999 to 2000. We were almost sold out when Obama ran & won for president. Again for his second election. Any rumor starts the gun sales to skyrocket. These people are so fearful it's unbelievable. Then...they throw the same ole "right" and "protect" words at us. These retail stores, manufacturers, govt. supporters are laughing all the way to the bank...

I would like to invite your Open Carry Attention Whores with all their Gun Barbie accessories to the south side of Chicago. Plenty of firearms here, practically every citizen has one on them, so all of your little Texan pistol strokers should feel perfectly safe - especially at 3am on a Saturday night. Bring the kids!

Cars are not designed to kill people. People only kill people with cars in accidents - yet we insist people earn driving licences. Guns *are* designed to kill people - so, obviously, there should be gun licencing and it should be even more stringent than driver licencing.

If the gun lobby are right (and I don't think they are) then anyone should be able to drive a car. Come to think of it, it's a good job cars weren't around when they drafted the US Constitution. :)